There are 3 numbers you should know about yourself that will help you assess your cardiac risk. Lifestyle changes and medications to improve those numbers may save your life.

A. Blood Pressure

Blood pressure (BP) consists of two parts: systolic (when heart pumps) and diastolic (between heart beats). One is normal doesn’t mean you are okay.

Normal BP is below 120/80mmHg. Pre-hypertension is 120-139/80-89mmHg. Hypertension is 140/90mmHg or higher.

High BP increases your risk of heart attacks and stroke.

B. Cholesterol

A “lipid profile” is usually composed of 3 numbers: HDL (good cholesterol), LDL (bad cholesterol) and triglycerides.

Total cholesterol should be below 200mg/dL. Normal HDL is 50mg/dL or higher for women and 40mg/dL or higher for men. LDL should be under 100mg/dL and triglycerides under 150mg/dL

High LDL and triglycerides contributes to hardening of arteries (atherosclerosis), which relates to heart disease and stroke.

C. Waist Size

Believe it or not, waist size predicts heart disease risk.

Your risk of having heart attacks, diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol increases when your waist size is over 35 inches if you are a woman, and 40 inches if you are a man.

Losing even one inch of waist size will improve all other heart health numbers.

Source: www.WebMD.com

You can find a good dose of healthy omega-3 fatty acids in nuts (almonds, pecan, walnuts, etc) and fish (salmon, etc).

Omega-3 fatty acids can prevent heart disease in healthy people. It also reduces the risk of having an heart attack in people already having heart diseases.

A recent study reviewed the findings of studies done in the past 30 years that involved more than 40,000 people on the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids.

It showed that omega-3 fatty acids has the strongest protective effect in patients who have existing heart diseases or already had heart attacks before. In these people, if they take a daily dose of omega-3 fatty acids, their risk of heart-related death is reduced by 30%.

People without heart conditions can also benefit from taking omega-3 fatty acids. It reduces the risk of developing atherosclerosis, arrhythmia, heart attack, heart failure and sudden cardiac death.

Before taking any omega-3 supplements, talk to your doctor about proper dosage and potential interactions with your current medications.

Source: webmd.com